United Statement on Wicks - UPDATED

D.C. United just released a statement regarding goalkeeper Josh Wicks' actions last night in United's 2-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders in the U.S. Open Cup final.

Wicks stomp of Seattle forward Fredy Montero led to his ejection from the match in the 69th minute, reducing United to 10 men and severely hampering their comeback hopes.

Here is the statement:

"D.C. United team executives and technical staff met today with Josh Wicks. During the meeting, it was expressed that his behavior in last night's U.S. Open Cup final was unacceptable and that he will be subject to internal discipline."

UPDATE: According to a source close to the situation, who requested anonymity because a decision hasn't been rendered, the discipline is not expected to include a suspension.

It's a shame that Wicks is jeopardizing a true "break out year" on the field with this kind of behavior. He needs to grow up fast. As a DC United fan, its been a relief to finally have some promise in goal (that we haven't had since the later Troy Perkins days). But this guy is on the verge of blowing it. Not just for DCU and its fans... but for himself. I don't think he's taking home the big paycheck just yet... but he was on track to double his salary either here or somewhere else in MLS. A couple of good seasons, and he's on his way to Europe just like Perkins, if he wants it. But right now, if I'm Tommy Soehn, he's on my bench until he can get his head straight. I sure hope he's given a true apology to the team already. "Passion during the heat of the battle" was a fair, although convenient, excuse for the bust-up with Burch... but last night was a inexcusable. Ron Artest comes to mind...

But wait, what about all those claims of simulation by Montero (and all the dirty names people have been calling him here)?

I get it, it's a passionate game and people lose it from time to time but...

Nail him DCU. Nail his a** to the wall. Wicks DID stomp on him, and what's worse is that he did it on purpose. He eyes up a guy who is on the ground, and does this disgusting act. I said it yesterday, in Europe he sits the rest of the season and is gone at the end. There is no room for that in the game. Period!

The Hamid signing offers a way to deal with fixture congestion, in lieu of a reserve system. Perhaps teams could bring in a couple of Academy players to play Open Cup, friendlies and SuperLiga/CCL matches. I don't imagine that each team would have more than one or two players at that level, but it's a way to get some high-level playing experience. Perhaps even Adu would have benefited from that kind of measured introduction. While Kocic also needs to get his innings in, it would be cool to see what Hamid can do.

Wicks had been in a position to negotiate a better contract as a legitimate #1. The he brain-farts two weeks in a row, nearly tossing away a rare road clean sheet, and definitely throwing away a Cip Final.

Even money that he sits out the next game (or two).

That previous thread talked about the 3-man back line being a tactical mistake against Seattle. True! But with Wicks' buffoonery, we were down at times to a tow man back line, as Namoff was having to push into the midfield. We were already on the ropes, playing 3v3 in our own end. The ejection sealed our fate.

In my mind, the Open Cup was Soehn's only chance to save his job. As it stands, they are not even in the playoffs, so MLS Cup is not even in the equation.

Josh Wicks to technical staff:
Coach, we live in a world that has goals and those goals need to be guarded by men with gloves. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Simpson? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Montero and curse the Goalkeeper Corps; you have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Montero's stomping, while tragic, probably saved goals and that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves goals. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties you want me in that goal, you need me in that goal. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use then as the backbone of a life trying to defend something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you," and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest that you pick up gloves and stand in the goalmouth. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

His behavior was unacceptable. Everyone seems to agree on that. Going over there to jump over him was not OK, and he was in the ref's face way too long. But sorry, until I see a video where I can actually see Wicks' foot landing on some part of Montero, or read a quote from somebody who actually saw it saying that he stomped on him, for me Montero faked an injury to deceive the ref and so far has gotten away with it.

Hell... The CR added five minutes to the second half, and the fracas after the goal was the only major stopage. How often do you see an almost one-for-one ratio of minutes lost due to stoppages to stoppage time? Suggests to me that perhaps the referee realized he'd been duped as to the severity of Montero's "injury".

Not sure Wicks showed any less sportsmanship than the rest of the team and officials when they didn't stay long enought for Seattle to get their medals. They showed a real lack of respect for their opponents, fans and allowed a national audience to witness their poor behavior.

I saw Wick's stamping on Montero clearly - it was an act of rage. Stupid. It was an assault not a foul - Wicks is lucky this kind of act only gets dealt with by the club and league. His continued argument with the ref and linesmen was a charade. He needs a long suspension and anger-management counseling. Damn shame, he has been a great addition all season, and was having an outstanding game. And Montero is a diving wuss. But this act suggests Wicks has some deeply-rooted personal issues - not just a moment's loss of judgement, heat of battle thing.

Pretty clear to me that he must be issued an unequivocal "cease and desist" statement by the club. One more such problem and he should be dropped from the squad. Not only was it unacceptable behavior, it was downright bizarre in its manner of occurrence.

@mason - I was actually disappointed by the decision to add only 5 minutes. Montero was down for at least that long. Before that, there was Zakuani's histrionics. Not to mention stoppages for substitutions and goals. I think it should have been at least 6 minutes.

On the whole, I've been impressed with Wicks. I hope he is back next year as our #1 'keeper. He looked incredibly shaky in that first game @ LA, but he has really grown into the position. As for the other stuff, he will mature.

If you don't understand why DC United played 3 in the back last night, you are an idiot. If you don't get that Soehn DOES prefer a 4 man back line, you are a fool. If you think any AVAILABLE 4th defender would have given DCU a better chance last night than the lineup they fielded, then you know nothing about this team.

Six substitutions will get you a minute or two. DCU used only one substitution by itself during the second half, since Fred came out at 45' and Kocic went it during the Montero/Wicks brouhaha. So lets say a minute for subs, total, in the second half. Two minutes for Zakuani and two minutes for Montero? That does seem more like the standard 1:2 ratio of time added to time lost.

@ghost77 -- where did Wicks hit Montero? His arm? Possibly. No wonder he was rolling around in pain on the ground so long. The arm bone, after all, is connected to the neck bone, which is connected to the back bone, which is connected to the hip bone, which is connected to the leg bone. No wonder he was laid out on the ground, unable to even sit up.

It's not exactly defending to Wicks to point out that he might not have actually stomped on Montero and pointing out that, regardless, Montero was milking it to get Wicks tossed. After expressing himself to the refs, Wicks is showing real maturity in publicly accepting the blame. That doesn't mean it really was as bad as some people are claiming.

@ghost77 -- I looked at all the video that I can find online, if you know of something that allows anyone to see Wicks' foot making contact with Montero please post the URL and I'll be happy to admit I'm wrong.

Stupid play by Wicks, yes, as Goff says he has no business going over there. Savage? Brutal? Sorry, I don't buy it, and I don't think anybody can back those kinds of accusations up.

Discipline will not be harsh, either by United or by US Soccer, because they'll have access to all the tape and player statements, will get the whole story and will respond accordingly.

And please don't ask me to cry for Montero. Does anybody believe that Montero was seriously hurt? Did he get his hand iced? Any broken ribs? Dislocated fingers?

not backing/defending wicks (again), but if a 200 LB man jumps on your hand, Id think there would probably be some sort of noticable mark, or even blood. didnt really see either last night, but clearly, Wicks was wrong. I do hope that the USSF fully investigates the issue, as they did with the Blanco incident, before coming to a decision.

and Montero will get his eventually for all of his diving/simulation. hes been in the league for half a season and hes already notorious for it. that crab has no place in MLS. just ask Ruiz what happens to players who take too many dives...

Although we can praise Wicks for accepting responsibility, and certainly benching him for some games is appropriate, if the team conclude that he did stomp on an opponent lying on the ground, and then resisted leaving the field of play, it is hard to see how a formal suspension is not required. And the absence of conclusive video evidence per cronaldo doesn't mean squat -- at best, conclusive video evidence might b a basis for a post-game reevaluation of a ref's call.

Speaking of benching though, I take indirect issue with this comment, posted by andyinc:

But right now, if I'm Tommy Soehn, he's on my bench until he can get his head straight.

Problem is, we don't want SOEHN on the bench.....

We need to revise the SE/Barra Song

If I had the wings of an eagle
If I had the a-- of a crow
I'd fly over Soehn's house tomorrow
And s--- on the b--- below!

Well I believe Mr. Wicks accepted his guilt, as did the club, what else do you need.....unreal there'd be any doubt about what he did, the video don't lie...if Wick's didn't do it, why did he not dispute it?

@ghost -- I've watched the video -- I don't think that Wicks intended to land on Montero with either one or two feet when he first went into the air to hurdle Montero. Montero rolled as Wicks was going over him, and that had to change the way Wicks was planning to land. Maybe, Wicks even thought Montero was striking out at him and he decided in the air to retaliate. Did he deliberately come down with both feet trying to hurt or intimidate Montero? Maybe, maybe not -- if he did, I'm willing to say that was not his intent when he first went in the air.

Also -- ghost -- Wicks did dispute it, vehemently. Now, he's seen that discretion is the better part of valor. So, he's accepting responsibility. Note that he doesn't claim he did step on Montero, either deliberately or accidentally. He's being grown up and moving on. Maybe, you could be as big a man.

Well I believe Mr. Wicks accepted his guilt, as did the club, what else do you need.....unreal there'd be any doubt about what he did, the video don't lie...if Wick's didn't do it, why did he not dispute it?

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1) There isn't any video, or it is at best, inconclusive.

2) There is no point to a protest or dispute until the USSF completes it's investigation and hands down punishment. They're not going to overturn the referee's decision on the field and force a replay. Broadcasting complaints hither and yon will get the player and the club fined. Best to pay lipservice, and wait to see what happens.

3) At such time a decision on sanction is made, an appeal may be filed. If an appeal is filed, it wouldn't be public anyway, USSF would just announce the results.

It is certainly true that although Wicks has accepted responsibility and the team has said it holds him responsible, both are very carefully NOT saying precisely WHAT he is responsible for:

The team's statement above is amazingly narrow: "his behavior in last night's U.S. Open Cup final". What behavior? That could be just, stepping down hard in a manner that looked like an intent to stomp, or refusing to leave the field of play.

Sane could be said of Wicks' extensive comments quoted by Paul Tenorio; lots of remorse without ever saying for what.

OTOH, just as an apology isn't much of an apology if its is weasely, so to an acceptance of responsibility shouldnh't do Wicks much good if he doesn't accept responsibility for something in particular

OTOH, just as an apology isn't much of an apology if its is weasely, so to an acceptance of responsibility shouldnh't do Wicks much good if he doesn't accept responsibility for something in particular.

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Yeah... Do soccer players know how to say, "I can't comment on an ongoing investigation," or is that something they only teach MBA and Law students?

1) There isn't any video, or it is at best, inconclusive.
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Sorry to beat a dead horse, but I think you'd be hard-pressed to find many people inside or outside the DCU camp that would question how conclusive the video is.

Contact or not doesn't matter. Wicks acted in anger and had intent to injure. There is no reason for him to have gone anywhere near Montero during a dead ball. And certainly not storming over and jumping with 2 feet. Even if he "missed" completely, as some of you seem to be claiming, just means his aim sucks, and is no reason to defend his actions.

Look... Ghost... I'm sick of you and I'm sick of this discussion. If his penalty from the USSF is anything less a four match ban, then USSF thinks there wasn't much in the "stomp". That's probably the most he'll get for going after the CR and 4O after the card and refusing to leave the field, which even if he hadn't been sent off would have been a send off in and of itself. If they hand down a ten match ban, then either someone has access to better angles and cameras, or there was something really juicy in the officials match reports.

I am stunned at some of you people. Here's the deal....Montero was not holding his chest. He pulled his hand to his chest and was shaking his hand....IN PAIN. I understand home team colored glasses, but some of you are just plain idiotic. The replays clearly show Wicks looking down at Montero to size him up, and then hopping at his hand. Case closed. End of story. Done deal. You people need to reslove some issues just as much as Wicks does.

I went into the game last night looking forward to watching Montero and having been favorably impressed by his performances in the few matches I've seen him play. I came out thoroughly disgusted by how classless and immature he is, but with a new found comparative appreciation for Zakuani, who put in an honest night.

What Wicks did was stupid, but, at the same time, showed more restraint than I would have been able to in the same circumstances. My immediate reaction to the sanctimony of the demands that Wicks be severely punished is revulsion. A few here might have been able to restrain themselves after the same player came in to you full force while you were lying prone and defenseless on the ground in the span of four minutes. A few of you. For those that play with any sense of passion or pride, you would be hard-pressed to pull back.

That said, restraint is what professionals get paid to do and it is fair to expect more from Wicks. But banning him from the team? Suspending him ten games? Let it go.

Reading the slew of piling on that has built up on this site makes me even happier to have tickets in our section, which gave Wicks a standing ovation above the dugout at the half and an even louder one when he hit the tunnel twenty minutes of gametime later.

The video shows Wicks hopping over Montero. It shows Wicks clearly trying to send a message to Fredy and not caring if he hurt him or not. And then it shows what ought to make every Sounders fan concerned with respect to Montero's future in this league. It shows him, for the second time in the game, exaggerating a possible injury... once the trainer had asked him to close his hand and Montero does without pain, the histrionics should have stopped.

The next time that Schmid tries to argue that Montero is hard-done by the rest of the league, folks here will have the benefit of the shameful performance he put in last night to measure those bogus claims by.

Yeah, going a man down in a cup final with an after goal, dead ball tantrum, now that's worth a standing ovation....

if you're loose-cannon keeper hadn't "shown his valor", you might've been drinking from the cup today.....but he didn't, and you're not....at least he got a standing O from your section and taught on all of the young DC fans how to act.

It's funny, in South and Latin America, diving and embellishing is seen as craftiness...almost an artform. There's a sort of live-by-the-sword-die-by-the-sword mentality to a player's ability to draw a PK or a card or a free kick. Makes me crazy.

Yet, virtually every team has players who excel in that craft and if you don't play that game you're often at a competitive disadvantage.

Until the officials and the league start reviewing films and handing out post-game fines and suspensions for the most obvious fakes, this will continue.

Also, I wish referee's had the consistent guts to require a player be hauled off on a stretcher almost immediately after the injury and have it taken care of on the sidelines. The rule should be: if the stretcher comes out the player MUST leave on it to the sidelines and the referee can decide how long before waving the player in. I'll bet lots of fatally injured players would be up in 20 seconds before the stretcher comes out.

All that said, I thought DC players fans and supporters represented very well and I'm looking forward to the rematch in 9 days. I'd love to meet you guys in the playoffs again as well. Seems some of the most attractive soccer in the league has been played by these two teams...at least against each other.

Outside of Montero, I was, once again, very impressed with the Sounders and their supporters. The last eight minutes of the game was the most fun I have had in a while at RFK. Wish the outcome was different, but I was glad to have been there and the environment was vastly improved because of the opposition and its fans.

this wicks thing is ridiculous. Montero is a faker and those idiots on FSC who should never ever announce any game are the most culpable. Everyone was saying omg omg he stomped on his hands he stomped on his hand.

1. There was no clear angle at what he did.
2. Montero never grabbed his hand
3. Montero grabbed his right lower quadrant like he was mortally inflicted by appendicitis.
4. Wicks boot never came close to this area.
5. i do agree Wicks put himself in a dangerous position and there is no excuse for the stupidity in which he jumped over/near a player. You jump around a master thespian he will make you pay time and time again.
6. if montero really comes up with major lacerations, tendon lacerations a splint for a month then i will stand down otherwise this is just a silly little incident which was blown out of proportion like the gulf of tonkin.

This is joke right? Why in the world the they think they need to internally discipline him? Trying to cover up for an embarrassing lost? Montero is a jerk and rapist and yes he was trying to go down all night. Whoever thinks they should look at Wicks also better look at Mofkrtro's fake play.

The question that did not get answered even when interviewing Wicks was "Did you or did you not stomp him?"
We are all assuming what we saw but we are not Wicks nor Montero. We dont know what really happen. It seems like Wicks just took the blame and everyone (the front office) is riding his back.

I would be more satisfied if Wicks (even in a video blog would tell what happened). Just to come out clean. Cause him talking about the passionate game and the pumping adrenaline doesnt answer:
"did you stomp him or not"

All I have to say is no ones defending him nor are we attacking him. As a fan base, we are just concerned that the actions by Wicks could easily continue to hurt the team and that it needs to be address in the right way.
Simple.

Wicks had a great game and he let his emotions get the best of him on a goal that he couldn't have done anything about.

Did it cost them the game? No. The second goal did…Jakovic got completely schooled (only thing worse would have been a nutmeg) by Le Toux while Burch and Simms must have been hanging out smoking a joint to have missed Levesque going on a solo run straight to goal. At least Simms made up for it with a goal and Jakovic had his act together for most of the game…not sure what Burch’s excuse is.

However, as far as I’m concerned Emilio cost us the game. Our DP blew how many shots during the game and what was he doing when he wasn’t blowing shots, he certainly wasn’t positioning himself to provide opportunities for our midfield. He makes up more than one fourth of our team salary but produces at a lower level than Pontius (a $36 k player).

If we’re going to have a DP lets have a DP not an overpriced average player.

This is joke right? Why in the world the they think they need to internally discipline him? Trying to cover up for an embarrassing lost? Montero is a jerk and rapist and yes he was trying to go down all night. Whoever thinks they should look at Wicks also better look at Mofkrtro's fake play.

Posted by: DCUnitedFootball | September 3, 2009 8:23 PM

Wow, way to stay classy. All that paranoia and name calling. Must be watching a tad too much Glenn Beck.

I think the bashing of Montero is redonkulous. You can rest assured if Kasey Keller pulled a "Wicks" on Jaime or Emilio, they would have done the same thing. He might embellish fouls, but Wicks was in the wrong and deserved the red.

I hope the team execs and friends are burning, especially to have seen Seattle dance on our pitch with that big shiny trophy but even more so after seeing Adrian Hanauer sport that even bigger s**t-eating grin - you know all in the face of that "We Win Trophies" talk. Maybe it's those images that make me want to have someone's head - Wicks head, perhaps Soehn's - for what heppened yesterday, or...

...maybe what Wicks did - in it's clear intent, recklessness, stupidity, and insanity - does deserve to be made an example of in the sternest way possible. I am a United fan from day one, but there is no room in the sport for this kind of behavior. Wicks is a young lad and will learn, I hope, that this is not the conduct of a professional or a leader.

For me a suspension would have said yes we win trophies, but we also have class and respect for our crest, our fans and our game. But hey, I guess a tough finger-wagging, a mintue in the bad-bad corner and a statement about an internal talking to goes just as far.

Abso-f'n-lutely. Class act too. But I respect it was a tough call and one keeper needed to go. The part I don't get is why we played so well in Chicago with Jaime and Christian platooning one spot giving us speed the entire match, playing a solid 4 man defense, and then Soehn goes and puts in Team Geriatric.

To get back on topic, Montero worked hard for that goal and Wicks was beat fair and square. I'm not ready to conclude that the stomp was intentional nor that it met its target in a solid way. But I am sure that Wicks could have avoided any image of issue if he so chose.

Wicks needs to stomp on the rest of the team. They were awful and played without any heart. Emilio deserved a -1 rating. Moreno is slower than Zach Thornton with his injury. If I'm the GM, everyone is gone except Simms and Quaranta and Olsen will gradually move to the coaches bench with Harkes.

Also, ghost77 and that bizarre albino dude in no way represent Seattle fans, only the the small lunatic fringe that can't seem to find the door out of their parent's basement. They should be ignored.

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Agreed. I liked many of the visitor I spoke with while wandering the concourses last night. This is why I've been giving those two lines from the Barney Frank "Get the hell out of my town hall meeting" phrasebook.

On Wicks, here's my line and I'm sticking to it: USSF is going to suspend Wicks. That's a given. You don't get to abuse officials like that and get off scot free. If it's more than a four games suspension, one of the officials saw him do something awful to Montero, or else there was video of the same. Anything under that, and it's just for abusive language and gestures toward game officials.

If Wicks did stomp on Montero, there is no comparison to the Carlos Ruiz/Clark incident.

Clark beating down Ruiz was IMO the greatest moment in MLS history. What a sleazy scumbag Ruiz was. Good riddance.

Montero hasn't been in the league long enough to reach Ruiz's sleazebaggedness. Give him time though.

The fact that there is so much diving and feigning injury in soccer makes the "he didn't make contact" theory quite plausible.

60 years ago, players would not fake injury. If this happened then, we would know Wicks made contact. (I made up the 60 years ago part).

Some good points made about how slow United is. In this league you can afford to have talented but slow defenders like Namoff, but you can't be slow in the back, middle and up top and expect to be successful.

Didn't Blanco abuse some people at a LHUSOC match last year? I wasn't there and don't recall the sum of his punishment, but I think MLS stayed out of it. Help me out myah.

Red card carries a one game USOC suspension, so that's a given. I can see one more game for the severity of whatever he did to Montero, and two to four games for the conflict with the officials. At which point (up to six games aedy), they may just go for a one year ban.

It's not in the club's interest to pile on. Wicks strikes me as sincere, and intelligent (in the IQ sense), so he'll say and do the right things off the field. But the only way he'll be able to really correct this, with DCU or anyone else, will be with what he does on the field. So I say no suspension is good move.

No, I think they should be treated about equally (violent play and ref abuse). Like I said, I didn't see the Blanco incident, but I wonder how the details compare with Wicks' and what Blanco's punishment was, as sort of a frame of reference.

That and whether MLS took any action in the Blanco incident. Obviously the Fire didn't, but the situations don't compare from a club perspective...

No, I think they should be treated about equally (violent play and ref abuse). Like I said, I didn't see the Blanco incident, but I wonder how the details compare with Wicks' and what Blanco's punishment was, as sort of a frame of reference.

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Just to be a bit pedantic... It's Serious Foul Play and Violent Conduct. The latter is a far bigger deal because it occurs outside of the run of play whereas the former occurs within it.

On Seattle (or any other visiting) fans: I think they should be treated with class and respect. maybe even be sung a welcome chant. Then we proceed to support our team for 90+ minutes with all our heart. but at the end of the day, it's a game. We should treat it as such and abide by principles of respect and just try to have a good game.

no need to have soccer games turn into an excuse to pick fights. peace, positivity, love, and fun....

I'm not mr. flower power, but I'm saying we should strive to do things differently and not have to have bars that say "No OPPOSING COULOURS" . we are all ambassadors in the dc area. Maybe we can make that our next brilliant marketing slogan instead of "we win trophies" because that is just a bit disingenuous right now.

"D.C. United team executives and technical staff met today with Josh Wicks. During the meeting, it was expressed that his behavior in last night's U.S. Open Cup final was unacceptable and that he will be subject to internal discipline."

Internal discipline? That means nothing. All he needs to do now is bite someones ear off like Tyson did. Then the circle will be complete. The idiocy of D.C. United, and Wicks will then be complete.

Hey Albino, when the Sounders decided to ignore the fact that one of your fans actually threw a bottle and hit Wicks you lost your leg to stand on. You're hardly in any position to play Morality Sheriff.

Montero is a stud. I'd kill to have him in a DC kit. Anybody that calls him a whiner or a diver is blind, stupid, or both.

Wicks made a bone headed play, like many another DCU player in their day. And he's far from the first to pull this particular act. Rooney and Zidane both did it on the highest of stages and didn't get more than the red card suspension in either case.

But, and here's the rub, we should all be (wo)man enough to admit that DC was nowhere near getting back into this game with 10 men, 11 men or 15 men. Wicks didn't cost us the game. We were out-chanced, out-played and out-classed.

I want to see us be better next year, but we need better talent evaluation, better cap management, and above all better coaching for that to happen.

You incomprehensible, unobservant twits. Are Montero's usual performances on the ground are annoying, yes, but they tend to come from the league he developed in. If you did not "perform" you quite likely would not get the call. However in this case, if you watch the replay, you'll see two things: 1) he did receive treatment on his hand but 2) the majority of the time, including on the stretcher, was due to tightness in his calf and/or hamstring. You will notice, or maybe ignore, that he had been attempting to stretch it out several times before the incident. It probably tightened up on him while on the ground.

BTW the way mason08, a first year law student could get a conviction for assault with the visual evidence that was available.

BTW the way mason08, a first year law student could get a conviction for assault with the visual evidence that was available.

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Yeah? Not if I were on the jury. It's impossible to "attempt" to stomp someone that doesn't see you coming. It doesn't pass logical muster unless the stomper is Mr. Magoo.

A first year law-student, however, would probably push for battery, saying that Wicks actually made contact, using Montero's reaction as evidence. Reports from the hospital and training staff on injuries sustained would help prove his case.

As a seattle fan and having seen montero play every game this year, I agree that he dives way too often and it's very annoying. I'd wager about 95% of the south american and euro forwards in football play in a similar fashion. That doesn't make it ok or acceptable but it's the way they play. That's why I enjoy watching the US players...it's rare to see them dive. In no way does any of that pertain to what "Weaks" did. That guy should be suspended from the team for a few games but it looks like he won't be. Way to go DC...you look like a real class organization to the rest of the world.

Can't wait for the rematch between DC and Sounders FC on September 12. Hope Wicks and Montero both play. Could make a great rivalry. Wicks drove us Sounders FC fans nuts when he totally burned serious time when they played in Seattle a few months back.

That Italian recieved a four match ban for elbowing McBride in the face. Video evidence was inconclusive. He missed all subsequent Italian matches until the final.

Zidane recieved a three match ban for the headbutt. It just didn't matter because he'd retired from international duty. Video was conclusive, but there were mitigating cicumstances. The headbuttee was suspended two matches.

Rooney recieved a two match ban, because video was inconclusive. He missed the Euro 2008 quals against Andorra and Macedonia.

None of them flipped their lid on the officals the way Wicks did, which will be good for a few matches in and of itself. I stand by what I said: If the ban is more than four or five matches, then USSF either has something in the report, video, or other evidence of stomping (like photos of cleat marks on Monteros hand/arm). Any shorter of a suspension, and they are just protecting the officials from bat-dung crazy GKs.

I heard an interview with Evans the midfielder for the Sounders and he said that there was a cleat mark in the groin area from Wicks after the game. I suppose Evans could be lying, but that seems a little unlikely. In the end it's really irrelevant whether Montero simulated or not. Wicks' stomp was inexcusable, disgusting and indefensible. Those of you defending him should be ashamed.

Roscoe-
I was with you until the second to last sentence. Simulation has no place in the game. None. Though it is not violent, it attacks the notion of honest, sporting competion as much as SFP or VC. Assuming Evans' account is truthful (and I agree - why lie?) and that the Sounders and/or the match officials are worth their salt, they've already passed along Montereo's, eh, bodily evidence, and Wicks will recieve a lengthy USOC suspension.

OTOH, if he doesn't, then those condemning him for his "violent" act should take it as a lesson to be more judicious in the future. I doubt they will, however.

In my opinion there are two types of "simulation." Players often exaggerate real contact simply to make sure the official sees it. I'm ok with that. There are also times when a player will pretend contact when there was none; I absolutely despise that. Montero definitely indulges in both, and I don't respect it. The kid's got beautiful feet, I'd like him a hell of a lot more if he'd just stay on them. Well, he also needs better field vision. But I digress.

For the spcific incident, Wick had no business being anywhere near Montero. From the replay (and I played it a bunch of times in slow motion) it's clear that he went at Montero in anger and frustration, but it looks like he thought better of it in the air and tried to just come down "close" -- sort of like tailgating somebody who cut you off while fantasizing about rear-ending them. I couldn't tell if he actually made contact or not, but frankly I really don't think it matters much. It was long after the play was dead, and it was both dangerous and stupid (not least because he needlessly created the opportunity for Montero to feign injury -- sort of like a defender swinging wildly at the ball inside the box, quality professionals simply don't do that). He deserved the red.

Such a disappointment, too. It was a wonderful match up until that point. Seattle had had the edge on chances, but the Sounders are really good at creating and then blowing high quality chances, and DC had certainly had opportunities. Given how much pressure United was able to put on the Sounders goal with only 10 men for the last quarter of the match, I think it had potential to have been one of the best American matches ever. Such a shame.

mason when I said the simulation (if it was) was irrelevant I meant as a way to excuse or divert attention from Wicks. I don't condone diving and Montero certainly goes down easily, but that is a separate issue. That's why I said it was irrelevant.